[Momeijheii]

Okay, this is the saddest bari story you've ever heard, I'm sure.
I started playing bari when I was in eighth grade...it was the most
amazing thing ever. I played the school's bari....a yamaha...not sure
what model...approx. 12 years old.
I played bari in concert, and jazz, and i marched with a tuba. (shut up)

This year, I changed schools and I had to leave my bari behind
(okay, it's not really my bari, since it belonged to the school, but i put my valuable time and energy into it, so i call it mine)
Now, I'm marching Alto sax, and i'm trying to get on bari in concert, but here comes the problem.

JohnClifton. He's a good kid, he really is, but he's keeping me from my destiny...ahem. no really.
He plays the school's only good bari...i dont know what brand it is, but it's gorgeous, and well taken care of. (it's just as old as my bari at my old school, btw)

My new school has 3 bari's stored upstairs in the loft...my band director told me to find one that works. THAT was sheer terror.
The first one i picked out was dented so badly that, i couldnt even put the neck in it... The second one had a 'rat' in it, as we say...had duct tape on it, and couldn't play a low D without sputtering and dying a horrible death. and The third looked promising, but the low C# key had completely fallen off the thing.

Today, my band director rigged the dented one with a bass drum mallet so i could get the neck in it...and let me just say...it sounds HORRIBLE.

I know the sax is old...and hasn't been played in years, but something's gotta give. (THERE IS A POINT TO THIS, BELIEVE ME)

I would like to think that i'm a pretty good bari player. I had a pretty warm tone on the Yamaha at my old school, but this ancient Elkhart.........

yeah.

Problems:
whenever i play the Elkhart, i get a really nasty, bitter tone.
Could it be the reed? I'm playing on a Rico 3 1/2 (JohnClifton gave it to me....he said he hated it.) and i HATE Rico reeds to...i usually play Vandorens..
I squeak....badly it's not a shrill, high pitched squeak, it's that stale, nasty, dead sounding squeak...(this happens when i come down basic concert scales, or jump octaves...like if the music has a D below the staff, then a D on the line....it squeaks)

Anybody willing to help out a poor, southern girlie?

 

[SAXISMYAXE]

Wow girl, where are you going to school? Those horns all sound like they are beyond redemption or close to it. Mind you, it has been awhile since I was in school, so this might be the norm now sadly.

The short of it, if the horn isn't sealing properly through the entire range, and isn't in good repair, you can't expect any miracles in the Mouthpiece/reed/lig setup department.

By the way, you might want to pass on to the band director for future reference that the proper way to fit a neck tenon to it's receiver is NOT by cave manning it with a drum mallet!

 

[Martin Williams]

Well for starters you'll want to get a reed that you're happy with.

Secondly, I bet that any bari that was 'rigged with a bass drum mallet' needs more work than the mallet can provide. Get your director to get at least one of them serviced and into playing condition will be your first step

 

[Martin Williams]

Mike, you beat me to it! Seems we are thinking on the same lines

 

[Jonathan C.]

Your Sig. reminds me of someone I know. Sorry.

I guess just play Alto, or buy/rent a Bari if you could. It sounds like all those horns need complete overhauls, and serious dentwork.

Hey Sax,
how much you want to bet someone sat on one of the Bari's?

 

[Momeijheii]

True, so true. I'll check at school tomorrow to see what they have along the line of bari reeds...(though i expect jack diddly....)

I changed schools; i moved to the school across town
(you know, that whole cross town rivalry thing...blah blah blah) but the band
directors at the schools are on good terms. I've been begging my new
BD to call my old BD and ask to borrow the bari...seeing as how my old
band downsized from 115 to 74, and i was the only bari player, and they wont be using it...
but my old BD hasnt been getting to the phone when my new one would call.

My new band director said he'd call and ask for my bari without a doubt, if we couldnt get this one to work...and i dont think this one will work *shakes head*

 

[SAXISMYAXE]

Mike, you beat me to it! Seems we are thinking on the same lines

Great minds...........

 

[SAXISMYAXE]

Hey Sax,
how much you want to bet someone sat on one of the Bari's?

As a school horn, there is NO telling what happened to it!

Whenever I see a prospective sax with a school marked on the case, I proceed with EXTREME caution. Rather like buying a previous rental car...it is most often one ragged out and abused puppy.

 

[Martin Williams]

Great minds...........

great minds what? We all know Ive got nothing bouncing around upstairs!

But staying on topic, sounds like you need a conversation with your director on maintaining one of those horns if you cant get one of your own.

If you cant get that done, and still are determined to play bari you can do your best to wrestle your way through one of those. What doesnt kill you will make you stronger. When I first got my Martin Bari, playing it was great cardio! haha

 

[SactoPete]

What are the three "attic" horns? I'm not scared off by duct tape, dents, and loose keys... it's just character! And if the horn is structurally sound and the pads are mostly intact you could make it work. But I'd go based on which is sax with the most promise.... then, maybe you could get your BD to SELL one or two of the unused horns to finance getting the best of the bunch in reasonable shape. What school needs 4 freaking baris?

Pete

 

[Martin Williams]

What school needs 4 freaking baris?

Ive played in a Bari sax Octet when I was in Music School at Ohio State, hows that?

 

[SactoPete]

I think I heard that - you played "mating suite for elephant seals", right?

OK, OK, what OTHER freaking school needs 4 freaking baris?

 

[Momeijheii]

wowzeez!
We had a pep rally today, and i played the old bari....it didnt sound
off, or anything while i was playing with the other bari, and the tubas...but
....in the icy silence....*shudder*

hrmmm...my band director wont be buying any bari's anytime soon, even if i
beg and plead....we just dont have the money...schools dont really support the band programs, monitarily....they do most of that themselves, and that still isnt saying much...

It looks like that crusty bari'll be cool for the little bit of playing i'll do in the stands with it, but come auditions for Lion's band, and state clinic, etc..
I'll have to have a better bari. No buts about it...

 

[Bari Playa]

Our highschool own 4 baris. Two play great one is okay and one has good tone but needs some mechanical work. We own a selmer balanced action, bundy(not sure what model), a conn 12m(my current beast and weapon of mass destruction) and lastly an elkhart. The elkhart needs work but has a rich tone. The 12m is a good horn but has some intonation problems. The bundy is great. And our selmer is the best we have. To bad its in the shop. Next year we're adding a low A bari to our collection just for me.

 

[BaruDude]

well, my old high school technically had 6 bari sax's. they had some amazing horns there, from conn's to rather nice selmers all very vintage (and all VERY used), the main issue was whenever a sax became unplayable it would go into the loft and they would buy a new bari. currently (i wouldn't know because i graduated), they have one working brand spanken new Yamaha and a attic full of baris in such discontent that you dare not open the case ( when i went through them i had an issue with one horn that when i picked it up every key fell off.). i kinda did a bit of an extreme, since i enjoyed bari much much more than alto , and i knew i would want to keep playing... i asked for a horn for X-mas. while it was a bit of a big present i do now happily own my own sax and in my opinion you cant really advance beyond a certain point unless you have your own horn. while what i am saying is a bit of an extreme, i would recommend maybe talking to your parents about getting a sax if you are serious aboot continuing your playing.

 

[NIMOGT]

My HS has 7 baris, all are playable but most of them are bad beginner level horns. The two horns with a low-a are a selmer signet USA and a serie II(this one is MINE!) There are also two mark VIs (badly taken care of but are okay) and two beginner selmer USAs and then one martin "the martin" (can't play in tune for one's life). Last year four of them broke in a one day period, and somebody broke the LH pinky keys on "my" bari (the seire II) and left it out of commision for a month, and frankly it doens't feel the same anymore. I know it is not as bad as your story, but still a little disturbiong to any caring person who doesn't treat school instruments as crap.

 

[Momeijheii]

I'd go ballistic if somebody broke my JoeJoe...
BUT..
I think the Elkart is warmin' up to me. He did okay in the stands friday night...
but....alas, he's not my JoeJoe.
However, the further i go along in getting familiar with him, the more i'm
leaning towards my problems being with the ligature and reed.

Like, when we went on break after halftime, i was careful to put my bari reed in my alto case. (i play bari in the stands, and march with an alto)
And when i got back...this freshman girl who plays baritone horn was immediately like "I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry..." and I was kinda like "huh? wha' happened?"
It seems that while i was gone, she accidentally bumped my bari, and knocked the lig' underneath the bleachers. The dark, and muddy underneath the bleachers. Needless to say, i wanted to tear my hair out.

She assembled a search team and got it back for me...and when i put the lig' and reed back on, the blasted thing started squeaking all crazy...it took me about 5 minutes to get the reed and lig' back how it should be, so i could play.

Facts about the lig':
I belive it's a bari lig' *note that i said 'believe'*
It's really big....either because it's not a bari lig' *remeber, i said 'I believe' it's a bari lig'....
or because some genious managed to stretch the stuffing out of it.
It'll fit fine when I wrap a slip of paper around the mouth piece before i put the lig' on. (man, i already know what some of you may be thinking...)

So, am I waay off base with this theory? Of course, there's no way of telling except trial and error, but it is the weekend, and I couldnt bring it home...
Seriously, I'm not thaaat stupid, just lack of experience with a raggedy horn XS

 

[LBAjazz]

Just curious...what city is your school in, I mean, what school district?

 

[Momeijheii]

I live in Philadelphia, Ms...

My old school I went to was Philadelphia High School:
Philadelphia Public School District(city) :Band Direcor: Tom Henry. (and like a gabillion different assistants who quit over the years: Wesley Lollis, Jason Alford, David Williams, and Jerry Pickering)

My new school is in the same city:
Neshoba Central High School District(county): Neshoba County Schools:
Directors: Scott Sullender, Daniel Wade, and Amanda May.

 

[Momeijheii]

Ignore